Experimental validation of forming simulations of fabric reinforced polymers using an unsymmetrical mould configuration

Forming simulations are performed on woven textile composites using (a) an explicit finite element method and (b) a kinematic mapping scheme. Both methods are compared with experimental results that are obtained by determining the fiber orientations of glass/PP woven composites thermoformed on an extended hemispherical shaped mould with different orientations of the blank. It was found that the kinematic mapping approach severely fails in predicting the fiber reorientation that occurs during stamp forming for non-symmetrical forming configurations. The FEM-simulation gives a reasonably good prediction of the fiber reorientation and seems the most promising technique in having good draping simulations. The reported experimental results can be used as a benchmarking case in the assessment of the quality of forming simulation methods. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.